Monday, July 11, 2011

Holidays and expectations

This is what happens when you miss the boat you hoped to be on! Asleep before we left the dock.

Recently took a working holiday to the Sunshine Coast! (Matt was working, Beansprout and I were on holidays!) As soon as we boarded the ferry to cross over, a felt a little bit lighter and quite a bit excited to introduce Beansprout to the BEACH! It seemed the perfect type of vacation with a 2plus-year-old: get up and play in the sand all morning, take an afternoon nap, and walk the pier with ice cream in hand in the evening :) This is where I have to insert a great big HALT and give some background information. I usually work pretty hard at keeping my expectations in check with my little guy. I don't push him to do things he is uncomfortable with and I try to remember that he has his own pace for doing things. Little did I know crossing on that ferry that I was really going to be tested on this all week! As I look back now, all of this "perfect vacation" talk is about me having certain expectations of what things would be like, and most specifically what Beansprout would like. Oops. He had other plans :)

Gotta love the beach shoes and long shorts!

After breakfast the first morning, we trekked to the beach with our blanket, beach umbrella, towels, sand toys, lunch, sunglasses, hats, sunscreen, and water bottles, and got ourselves set up in the perfect spot. I lathered Beansprout up and . . . after about 5 minutes of playing in the sand he said, "All Done!" "Home." Can you hear the sigh!?! Try as I might to get him to enjoy the beach, it was ultimately a big FAIL. I had to take him back to the beach house we called home and re-evaluate my own expectations!

Gelato, need I say more?!?

Evening walk at Trail Bay.

Sechelt Wharf

The good news is, our beach holiday still had plenty of fun to offer me and my little guy! We enjoyed exploring new playgrounds, walking the rocky beaches, watching seaplanes take off, eating that ice cream on the pier, and best of all, we learned that he LOVES trail walks :)

I learned that my own childhood memories won't always mirror those of Beansprout, and that I'm perfectly happy with the alternatives.

2 comments:

beansprout is lucky to have such a smart and flexible momma! regarding your dashed vacation hopes - my best friend helped me remember: it is never what we think it will be - but often it turns out even BETTER!